Improvement in artificial leather



in obtaining merely a cement.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

WM. KEMBLE HALL, OF WEST HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO AMOS BROADNAX, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

IMPROVEMENT IN ARTIFICIAL LEATHER.

specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 21,721, dated October 5, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM KEMBLE. HALL, of West Hobokcn, in the copnty of H ud-- son and State of New Jersey, at present residing in London, have invented a new and useful compositionot' matter which may be used as a substitute for leather; and I hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description of the mode and manner by which it may be manufactured.

The nature of my invention eonsistsin combining the chemical constituents of leather, procurable at a comparatively cheap rate, to form a substance resembling leather and applicable to the manufacture of boot 5 and shoes, harness, trunks,.and other purposes for which leather is generally used. I The gelatine and fatty matters of the skin or hide are represented or replaced by glue and grease, and the tannic acid and mucilaginous matters of the tanned leather by catechu or terra-japonica.

- To accomplish their combination with water 'tial manufacture in which it possesses a ropy,

tenacious character is preferable. Where the artificial leather should possess stifi'ness and rigidity, the most common and crudely prepared glue may be used; but it flexibility is desired care should be taken that the gelati- -nous matter of which the glue is composed has not been subjected to'the undue heat indicated by a dark-brown color approximating to black. Where the glue may be specially prepared the gelatinous solution should not be boiled down to the density requisite for solid glue, thus preserving the vitality of the gelatiue, which might otherwise be sacrificed Care must be taken that the solution of catechu does not come in contact with iron, as the tannic acid would be decomposed and resolved into a black dye, and when it is completed it'should be allowed to settle, that it may be easily separated from the earthy and other impurities with which in a commercial state it is usually somewhat contaminated. The solution of soap, glue, and catechu should be made separately in warm water, and after combination should be subjected for a few minutes to a gentle simmering heat not exceeding 200. It should have the proportions of about one-pound of soap, one pound of cateehu, and one quarter of a pound of glue in a gallon of water, and these proportions may be modified, as previouslysuggcsted, to suit the purpose designed. With this solution of leather, as it may be termed, I impregnate a suitably Woven or felted fabric, which is subsequently passed through a solution of alum or other similar reagent, by which the entire material and its respective component parts are rendered insoluble in water. There is therefore no destructive action exercised by water or dampness upon this material, although no expensive oils or compositions of indie-rubber are used in its manufacture. The fabric known as undressed moleskin, which is a cheap, strong twilled manufacture with a nappcd surface, is peculiarly applicable to this purpose.

. The surface of the artificial leather may be dressed with the ordinary dubbi'u used by ourriers, or may be enameled in black or colors in the mannerpracticed with genuine leather. What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- The combination of the chemical constitueuts of leather or their equivalents, substantially as hereinbefore described, for the purpose of forming a substitute for leather.

' WILLIAM KEMBLE Witnesses R031. 0. GIST, J. B. WHEELooK.

HALL. 

